WoW!! This is clearly a sign of the tough economic times ahead when a leading global auto maker like Honda pulls out of Formula 1. They are not just looking to take a year OFF, they are DONE, they want out and are even going as far as looking for a buyer?

Honda’s president and CEO Takeo Fukui said, “We, Honda Motor Co. Ltd., have come to the conclusion that we will withdraw from all Formula One activities, making 2008 the last season of participation.

Honda, which spent more than £300m a year on F1, said it would also no longer supply the sport with engines.

We can all thank the glorious US of A and their sketchy Banking Institutions for their wonderful hand outs of exuberant mortgages which ultimately led to this disaster. Here is an awesome article outlining the global economic crisis how it all started: The End of Wall Streets Boom

“Honda must protect its core business activities and secure the long term as widespread uncertainties in the economics around the globe continue to mount.”

The statement above is a statement that ALL major global corporations seem to be following suit with and following up with massive layoffs, especially in the auto industry. All auto makers are estimating a 25-35% reduction in 1st quarter auto builds and it doesn’t take an senior economist to conclude the rest of 2009 isn’t going to be any better.

“This difficult decision has been made in light of the quickly deteriorating operating environment facing the global auto industry, brought on by the sub-prime problem in the United States, the deepening credit crisis and the sudden contraction of the world economies.

“Under these circumstances, Honda has taken swift and flexible measures to counter this sudden and expansive weakening of the marketplace in all business areas. However, in recognition of the need to optimise the allocation of management resources, including investment regarding the future, we have decided to withdraw from Formula One participation.

Honda Motor Co., Ltd PRESS RELEASE

We, Honda Motor Co., Ltd., have come to the conclusion that we will withdraw from all Formula One activities, making 2008 the last season of participation.

This difficult decision has been made in light of the quickly deteriorating operating environment facing the global auto industry, brought on by the sub-prime problem in the United States, the deepening credit crisis and the sudden contraction of the world economies.

Honda must protect its core business activities and secure the long term as widespread uncertainties in the economies around the globe continue to mount. A recovery is expected to take some time.

Under these circumstances, Honda has taken swift and flexible measures to counter this sudden and expansive weakening of the marketplace in all business areas. However, in recognition of the need to optimize the allocation of management resources, including investment regarding the future, we have decided to withdraw from Formula One participation. We will enter into consultation with the associates of Honda Racing F1 Team and its engine supplier Honda Racing Development regarding the future of the two companies. This will include offering the team for sale.

In its third era of Formula One activities, Honda has been participating in Formula One races from the 2000 season, initially with BAR, by adopting a new format of jointly developing racing machines. Subsequently, in a move to meet the changing environment surrounding Formula One, we switched to running a 100% Honda-owned team commencing with the 2006 season.

Surmounting many challenges, the Honda Team achieved a Grand Prix victory in 2006, enabling Honda to receive overwhelming support from Honda fans around the world that were looking forward to greater success. It, therefore, has been an extremely difficult decision for us to come to this conclusion without having been able to fully meet the expectations of our fans.

By making the best of what we have learned during these times of economic turmoil, coupled with the spirit of challenge gained through active participation in racing, we intend to continue with our commitment in meeting new challenges.

Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank our fans and all those who have supported Honda’s Formula One efforts, including everyone in the world of Formula One.

5 Responses to “2008 Honda F1 Racing Comes To An End”

Jegansaid on December 5th, 2008 at 9:33 pm

Such a tragedy. Honda has dabbled in F1 since the 60’s with much success and it’s just really sad to hear that they’re totally pulling out of F1. But somehow you would expect Honda to be the first casualty. Firstly, Honda along with Toyota are prime examples of companies who try to keep their costs down to a minimum and naturally, are market leaders at it. But more importantly, unlike Toyota, Honda has a minimum number of sponsers for their F1 team. Their green initiative has always ruled the day and the $300Mil each year has come out of their own pockets.

well… i bet the results this year were a major factor in their withdrawal from the F1. I guess the team had bad management, poor results and the guys from Honda spent a lot with it each year. When you have a yearly budget of $500 mil and win only 13-14 you aren’t too interested to invest more in that sector.

[…] has not been a wonderful year so far in the automotive world. So far we have seen Honda’s F1 Racing come to an end and Audi Leave the American Le Mans Series. NASCAR on the other hand has only lost 6% of it’s […]